An Organization Thanksgiving
by Maidenstear
Summary: Even a heart-hunting, plotting organization can come together for a warm holiday full of happiness and cheer. Right? Or: Demyx will use anything as an excuse to not work.


Aneko: Hey kiddos! What's up?! Did you have an awesome Thanksgiving, if you celebrate it? I hope so!

This fiction is a request from user Bighead98. This is exciting guys, I've never done a request before! *Flails in embarrassed excitement.*

Also, I know it's really late for Thanksgiving, but I got sick. I had planned for this to be finished like…the week before last. Such is life. T.T

Disclaimer: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts franchise.

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><p><em><strong>An Organization Thanksgiving<strong>_

"So…why exactly have we stopped missions today?" Roxas asked as he and Axel walked down the maze of hallways in the Organization's headquarters. Although he appreciated the sudden reprieve in day after day of heart collection, he was somewhat confused when he woke up to a notice on his door suspending all organization activities.

"Oh, right. You can't remember anything from before, so you wouldn't know." Axel yawned, scratching the back of his head. "Well one of our members—Luxord, maybe? Or Lexeaus, whatever—anyways, one of them came from a world where they celebrate a holiday called "Thanksgiving," or something like that. Demyx overheard and thought we should—what was it—"Practice celebrating so that we understand more about the hearts we're trying to capture."

Roxas frowned. "That…sounds like a stretch. And an excuse for him to be lazy."

Axel snorted, shrugging. "Tell me about it. Saix shut him down immediately. But he must have bugged the crap out of Saix to let us do it, because that note certainly isn't something Saix or Xemnas would write."

Roxas recalled the messy scrawl the note on his door had been written. That would explain why it had been posted to his door rather than on the window in the Grey Area where Saix normally put mission briefings and notices. If Demyx _had_ put his notice where Saix usually did, Roxas wouldn't have been surprised if it got torn down and Demyx got glowered at for misbehaving.

"But Axel, wouldn't Xemnas say no, too?" Roxas couldn't imagine Demyx bothering the crap out of Xemnas successfully. The stone-faced nobody didn't seem a very easy target to bother and then still walk away with one's head still attached.

"Sure, but he's barely ever here. Guy's got so much of his own stuff going on, he doesn't care what we do as long as we make progress."

Roxas fell silent then, thinking about this "celebration." If it was anything like the "icing on the cake" he and Axel were always having, it wouldn't be bad at all. Although he couldn't really imagine some of the members getting all cozy and sharing ice cream…

Suffice it to say that when they finally opened the doors to the Organization's seldom-used kitchen, they did not find what Roxas expected.

Demyx was sitting in one of the large armchairs, arms and legs slung over the sides and sitar resting in his lap—that was hardly surprising—but he seemed to be directing the Dusks in putting plates and silverware on a long table with thirteen chairs. Or rather, they were attempting to set it but failing because their sinuous bodies couldn't walk straight, ending up in some plates landing close together, and others more than a foot apart. Napkins fluttered around the table like awkward flower petals, as the Dusks tried to place them down but let go before the thin paper was close enough to touch the table surface, sending them flying to very unintentional locations (One even landed on Lexaeus' head, though he was so tall that Roxas was never quite sure how _that_ happened).

Larxene was watching as another Dusk sent a plate clattering off the table on accident. She glared at Demyx. "This was your stupid idea, get up and fix that mess!" She looked ready to summon lightning and give him a good smack down on the spot.

"Hey, I thought it up, you can't expect me to do _everything!" _Demyx said, holding up his sitar in front of his face like it would protect him from her wrath.

"You could at least make it more…tasteful," Marluxia said, frowning as he looked at the table also.

Demyx strummed a not-so-in-key note on his instrument. "You want it fixed then go fix it yourself, flower boy!"

As Marluxia actually floated over to the table to probably do just that, Roxas' gaze slid to the other side of the room

Xaldin stood next to the wall watching everything, eying the goings on with vague disapproval, Luxord was shuffling one of his several card decks, and Xigbar was standing nearby, his shoulders shaking as he laughed at—

Roxas shifted his gaze from the dining area to the kitchen itself, and any thoughts he had on any of the strangeness of the situation halted like they had run into a cement wall.

He had not known that the Organization owned anything pink, especially in that particularly monstrous shade. Nor did he ever expect Vexen to be wearing said pink article over his Organization robe. At least the apron didn't have frills or lace on it.

Axel roared with laughter.

Vexen, who had probably already gotten the same such reaction several times, whirled around and brandished a spatula, of all things, in the redhead's direction.

"Hold your tongue, number eight! I have the power over this experiment, and if you mock me, you'll have no part in it!"

Roxas frowned. "Experiment…? I thought it was a holiday…"

Zexion leaned out from behind Vexen. "It is also an experiment. A meal this large? As though it could be left to all of you who wouldn't complete the job with the attention to detail that cooking requires."

Vexen bared his teeth at Zexion. "Please, number six! That's what _I'm_ here for!"

Zexion gave the Chilly Academic his most belittling stare, but it was lost on the scientist as he turned back towards the stove, leaning over the pot as he started mumbling.

Lexaeus walked up to Zexion with a large bowl. "I mashed the potatoes," he grunted.

The scene was the most disorganized that Roxas had ever seen the Organization.

Demyx was still strumming his sitar, Larxene was still yelling, Vexen was still mumbling, and Axel was still laughing, when the door slammed open.

Roxas was somehow not surprised to see Saix standing there, the aura around him vibrantly irritated where his face was not.

"Demyx," he said.

Demyx went back to hiding behind his sitar. "Heeeey there, Saix. Something, uh, wrong?"

Saix's already inexpressive face became even more inexpressive. "The mission list. What did you do with it?"

Axel, who had stopped laughing with Saix's dramatic entrance, cracked up all over again. "_That's_ how you got permission, Demyx? You stole the list?"

Saix fixed his glare on Axel. "If you find this so amusing, I suggest you go look for it until the situation ceases to be funny."

Axel smirked. "No thanks, I'll pass. Why don't you just lighten up a bit, Saix? Even Zexion and Xaldin are participating, and you know how they can be sticks in the mud." He jerked his thumb to the kitchen, where Zexion was pouring milk into a mixing bowl with the potatoes that Roxas was starting to think Lexaeus had mashed by hand.

Zexion paused to look up. "I'll have you know that I've already completed my quota for the day. Don't lump me with you."

Axel stared at him. "Seriously? Do you even sleep?"

Saix cleared his throat. "Whatever the case may be, stop this ridiculousness right away and return to your duties."

"I will not leave until the experiment has safely concluded!" Vexen declared, frowning at Saix. "It's at the critical stage!" It_ was_ starting to smell good, even though Roxas couldn't quite name what it was he smelled.

Axel put a hand on his hip. "Come _on_, Saix. One day won't kill you. And we aren't all over-achievers like some people."

Roxas wasn't sure how things worked out after that, only that twenty minutes or so later, he was plunked into a seat, and Vexen was chasing some of the dusks away from food he was carrying to the table. Although Roxas had to brush a few stray flower petals from his place setting, Marluxia had apparently made the table much more presentable. The napkin was even folded into a flower.

There was some kind of meat that Roxas couldn't name because he'd never seen it before—though it looked like some kind of bird—potatoes, carrots, green beans, and what appeared to be small chunks of bread cooked in some kind of spices until it turned soft.

"That's stuffing, and the meat is turkey," Axel leaned over to tell him.

Saix had somehow been coaxed into a chair, and though he sat there glaring at everyone, he made no move to get up. Or maybe Demyx had put glue on the chair (knowing Demyx, the possibility was high).

"If only Xemnas was here to complete our happy little party," Xigbar said with a feral grin. "He'd liven things up, yeah?"

Axel snorted. "You mean give a speech that no one would listen to, right?"

There were several mumbled variations of agreement, and whatever argument could have broken out in their founder's sake was silenced as the last of the food was set on the table.

There were a few minutes of studied silence as everyone began to grab the nearest dish and help themselves. But it didn't stay silent for that long.

"It seems that luck was with the cooks tonight."

"Wow, I didn't actually expect you to be able to make this taste good, Vexen. I must say I'm impressed."

"Excuse me, number eleven! Of course I could! No one else could have gotten the experiment right!"

"I mashed the potatoes."

"Ew, I just picked a flower out of my drink. Watch where you fling those around, petal powers."

"Like you can complain, you lazy oaf! At least he did something to help! You didn't do anything and this was your idea!"

"Whoa, like I said, harpy lady, you need to chill. It was my idea, remember?"

The air buzzed as Larxene sent a small charge of electricity at the instrumentalist. "Small" of course, relative to Larxene (Which for a normal person, wouldn't be very small at all).

Someone produced bottles of wine at some point, and while the others didn't keep him from having any, Roxas didn't find the bitter taste and the heady feeling that appealing, so he watched as the liquid was consumed at a faster pace than was probably healthy.

Once all the food was consumed, the plates were pushed aside as the drinking continued and Luxord coerced several of the more red-faced members to play a game of poker. Xigbar kept up just fine, and Zexion didn't lag too much, but watching Marluxia in a drunken state was pretty entertaining. Any politeness and patience he had flew away after several large glasses of the deep red wine. At the best of it, he looked around at everything with a dull stupor, and at the worst of it he began a half-mumbled rant about how he was _definitely_ not inferior to anyone, and a stupid card game would not change that! Flower petals flew off of him every time he took a breath, and it was like he was molting little pink feathers everywhere.

Vexen was even worse, at both cards, and holding his alcohol, as became apparent within one glass. He also proved to be more prone to ranting, made worse by the fact that he kept losing. They had to restart several games due to Vexen getting so angry that he threw his cards down, then dived across the table to steal the cards of some of the other players. Another game was halted because he sent icicles up from the table and impaled a lot of the playing cards (at which point Luxord started playing a lot more ruthlessly and with a scowl on his face). Roxas wondered if Vexen was still conscious enough to realize that he _could _just stop playing and then he would stop losing.

(Apparently he didn't, as he flipped the table again.)

Zexion seemed to be above the dealings of the true drunkards, producing a book and retreating into a corner to read it, but Roxas did see a glass of wine in his other hand. It was hard to tell whether Lexaeus had gotten drunk or not, as he just sat there next to Zexion, also minding his own business, his fingers hard at work detangling another one of his small puzzles. Demyx was even more out-of-tune than before, and Larxene was giggling at practically anything that anyone said—even when Demyx called her harpy lady again.

By the time Roxas's eyes started to get heavy, the others still showed no sign of stopping, and he returned to his room while the sounds of merry-making still echoed down the halls.

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><p>The next morning, there was no sign on his door, but when Roxas walked down to the Grey room, he found no one there.<p>

He looked at the moogle by the door. "W…where is everyone?" Even on mission days, he usually found Demyx sitting around avoiding work, Xaldin having a staring contest with the ceiling or the wall, and Saix looking generally like something foul-smelling had just died.

The moogle may have shrugged, though it was difficult to tell since he was always bobbing up and down in the air. "Haven't seen anyone yet, kupo," he said.

Roxas was aware of his mouth hanging open. "Not even Saix?"

"Nope."

Roxas frowned. Was it possible…? He walked back out and down another hall and entered the kitchen.

Almost Half of the members were scattered around the room, all of them asleep,except Xigbar, who was sitting with his hands behind his head and his legs crossed. Roxas was starting to think that nothing could ruffle the chill Nobody. He noticed Roxas in the doorway and grinned. "Looks like everybody had a little too much fun."

"Didn't you drink too?" Roxas asked.

Xigbar waved a hand dismissively. "_Please_. Like that little bit's going to affect me."

Vexen was lying half on the table, and Roxas thought he could see a bit of drool on the scientist's mouth. He had black marks all over his face, and next to him, a dusk was already taking the offending permanent marker to Axel's forehead. Marluxia was propped up against a wall, and he had become so buried in flowers that only his head and shoulders were visible (though Roxas imagined he had at least been warm enough all night). Larxene was also still in the room, curled up in one of the big chairs. She looked frighteningly innocent in sleep, and Roxas stared a little longer than he probably should have, just to make sure he wasn't imagining that Larxene could even make that relaxed expression.

The sink in the kitchen started up and Roxas looked up and saw that Zexion was also awake, and like Xigbar, looked none the worse for wear. He turned the tap off once his glass was full of water. He noticed Roxas staring and raised one eyebrow. "If you have time to stare, you could be out doing missions."

"You…did you already go on one?" Roxas asked.

"Of course," Zexion said, his tone clipped, and departed the kitchen.

Roxas was still debating whether to hang around in the Grey Area to wait for a mission or to go back to his room and sleep again, since no one seemed to be expecting anything, when his decision was made for him. The door slammed open just as it had last night, and just like last night, Saix stood there looking like he had a thorn in his side. Or more precisely, eleven thorns, none of which were in the Grey Area waiting for a mission.

"Wake up!" He all but barked. The door opening had made some of the members stir, but he shout roused them all to bleary-eyed half-awake status. "I expect you all in the Grey Area for missions in five minutes!" He yelled, and walked out again.

"Have a little compassion, won't ya?" Axel groaned, even though Saix had already left.

Although most of them would probably prefer to still be asleep, Saix's charming attitude worked wonders, and in only a few minutes most of them looked decently awake.

The door slammed open again, but this time Demyx was the one who bounced in, grinning from ear to ear. "Hey, guys! I found out there's this other holiday called Christmas, and—"

He was cut off by several voices at once.

"NO!"

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><p>Aneko: Vexen and Marluxia are probably doomed to be the butt of all Organization XIII jokes I might make.<p>

And drinking. Because alcohol affects the brain, not the heart. ;P


End file.
